Hello everyone! This is my first story on this site, but I hope to add more! I plan to update this story weekly, and I already have 8 chapters completed and ready.

This story will cover mature topics, including, but not limited to: self-harm, suicide, and abuse. Please be mature and respectful with the topics, and read at your own discretion. Thank you, and enjoy! :)

- Hunter


Bright, red lights stained the grey metal walls of the tower as the ear-piercing alarm filled its interior, alerting the team to an upcoming fight. The teens rushed down to the Main Ops room to find Robin staring at the large computer with a serious expression on his face, his muscles tense. The teens stood in silent disbelief as the symbol blinked repeatedly on the screen before them, a symbol that they never thought they'd see again. Flashing on the screen was a large, orange "S". Robin turned to face his team, his arms crossed against his chest.

"It's Slade. He's back."


"Seems kind of odd that Slade would choose a place like this. I mean, it seems pretty…I dunno, obvious?" Beast Boy questioned, looking up at the old, beaten down warehouse that Slade was supposedly hiding out in. The building was only a few miles outside of the heart of town, and wasn't concealed in the slightest.

"Yeah, Slade usually chooses more concealed places, and ones not so outdated," Cyborg agreed with his small, green friend. The building in front of them was made out of metal that had rusted over the years, leaving the once silver exterior a rough orange and brown. Some of the windows were broken, scattering sharp fragments of glass on the ground below, and some of the windows were completely missing with wooden boards nailed to the vacant openings. The door itself had been nailed shut with wooden boards as well, leaving no obvious entry ways. The old building was surrounded by small, crushed pieces of gravel, with blades of grass peeking out every so often. There were few lights in and around the building. The lights of the city could be seen in the distance, but street lamps had stopped long before they reached this area.

"It is rather unusual for him. We don't know what he's planning, so make sure you stay aware in there," Robin announced to the team. "Raven, can you get us in there?"

Nodding, Raven transported the team into the old warehouse in a dark orb. They landed in a dark hallway that was covered in cobwebs and vast amounts of dust. Old, broken furniture and shattered glass littered the ground, with the occasional rat or roach scurrying across the rubble. There was little sound apart from their quiet breathing, with the exception of a light hum coming from a room down the hall. A dull light shone from the open doorway of the room. Robin silently motioned for the team to head towards the area. As they slowly approached the door, the humming intensified, as well as the light. The team burst into the room, ready for a fight with the notorious villain, but found nothing but old furniture and wooden crates.

"Search the area. He has to be around here somewhe-," Robin started, but was soon interrupted by a familiar and frightening voice.

"I was starting to think you wouldn't show. But, you never disappoint, do you Robin?" Slade appeared from behind a tall stack of crates, slowly approaching the Titans. His half black, half orange mask reflected the dull light off of it, intensifying his stare.

"Slade," Robin hollered at the menace, "Why have you come back?" He and his team prepared themselves for a battle, readying their powers and weapons.

Slade walked closer to the team slowly, chuckling. "Now Robin, I'm sure you and your little team can figure out why I've come back. It shouldn't be too difficult for the Boy Wonder…".

"Titans, GO!" Robin shouted, staring intently at the madman. Robin despised that man greatly, and he had for as long as he could remember. Ever since the masked man stepped into his young life, turmoil had always resulted; nothing good happened when he came around. He hated Slade with everything in him. Raven and Starfire took to the air, with the three boys remaining on the ground. Starfire shot starbolts at the man rapidly, but he dodged them as he ran towards Robin. Robin took out his staff and blocked Slade's incoming punches with great efficiency. Hitting the man square in the chest with the end of his staff, he stumbled back, but did not fall. Seeing an opportunity, Raven encased some wooden crates in her dark energy and threw them towards Slade. They narrowly missed the villain, causing Robin to dodge the incoming attack. The crates hit the ground with such strength that they shattered and splintered on impact, sending a brigade of small, stabbing objects into the air. Slade ran towards Cyborg, engaging in hand-to-hand combat with the metal man. A swift uppercut from the robotic teen sent Slade backwards, right into the claws of a large Bengal tiger. Growling, Beast Boy clawed repeatedly at the villain, scraping his armor, and making him move back towards the crates from which he emerged.

"Now, Beast Boy, there's no need to be so aggressive," Slade teased as he put the boy into a headlock and dragged him backwards. In an attempt to get loose, Beast Boy transformed out of the form of a tiger and into a boa constrictor, wrapping his long, winding body around the villain's arm before slithering off onto the ground. Starbolts rained down on the villain, hitting him numerous times, knocking him back. Robin came from behind him, striking him in the head with his staff, making him stumble forward before coming in contact with Cyborg, who sent him crashing into some wooden crates.

The villain rose from the broken crates despite the many attacks, walking forward towards the teens. He bent his neck to the side, causing an audible crack to be released from his vertebrae. "Now, Titans, don't make this any harder than it needs to be." He darted towards the teens, much faster than they had expected. Instead of lunging towards the Boy Wonder as had been anticipated, he attacked Beast Boy, hitting him square in the chest and sending him back into the wall and onto the floor. Upon sitting up, he saw the madman approaching him quickly. He rapidly transformed into a cheetah and ran towards the villain. As he came within close proximity of Slade, he pounced with the intention of taking the man to the ground. Instead, as he took to the air in a leap, Slade grabbed him by the neck with such force that it caused him to transform back into human form. Gasping for air, Slade lowered the suffocating boy into a tight chokehold. The four Titans stood before the pair, poised for attack.

"Let him go!" Starfire raged, her hands lighting up green, ready to shoot starbolts.

"Now, now, let's not get ahead of ourselves," Slade said as he pulled out a small device with a red button on top. "One quick press of this button and this building and everyone in it will cease to exist. I don't think you want that, now do you?" He moved the device to the hand cutting off the boy's air supply. Beast Boy's green tint was slowly turning deep purple and blue. His large, stunned eyes were turning bloodshot as he struggled to get in air, and he was making awful gasping choking noises.

The team stood ready for attack, but unsure of their next move. Raven motioned towards Slade's hand with the intention of taking the device and started quietly chanting her mantra. "Azarath, Metrion, Zinth-,"

"Ah, ah, ah, I wouldn't do that, Raven. Any attacks or attempts towards the device, and this place will go up in flames." Slade threatened.

"What do you want, Slade?" Robin questioned, anger welling up inside the teen hero. Threatening him was one thing, but threatening the lives of his friends and teammates was a completely different matter, and one he didn't take too lightly.

"Why do you assume I want something, Robin?" Slade responded. He started taking steps backwards, dragging the boy with him. By now, Beast Boy's nose had started bleeding profusely from the increasing pressure in his head. The blood was trickling over his mouth and onto Slade's arm.

"Let him go, Slade. You don't want to do this," Cyborg threatened, with his sonic cannon ready and aimed towards the villain.

"Would you really risk shooting me when you could accidently hit him in the process?" Slade questioned. Cyborg lowered his cannon down just slightly, weighing on the villain's words. Cyborg's aim was impeccable, but there was always that slight chance. "I didn't think so." Slade continued to head backwards with the now near-unconscious Beast Boy. "It's truly been a pleasure seeing your faces again," the man teased as he pulled a handful of small, round items out of his pocket and threw them at the team, immediately surrounding them with heavy smoke.

In a fit of coughs, the team struggled to make their way out of the dense smoke. It soon cleared out, revealing that the villain, and their friend, were gone. Laying on the ground where the pair once stood was Beast Boy's communicator, drops of blood staining it.

"Where did they go?" Starfire gasped, desperately wanting to be reunited with her young friend.

"They couldn't have gotten far," Cyborg started.

"I can't sense the presence of either of them," Raven stated, "They're no longer here."

The team stood silently for a moment, processing the situation at hand. They turned to Robin, waiting for their next plan of attack. "Cyborg," Robin spoke, "can you track them somehow?"

"Without his communicator on him, there's no way I can track down BB's location. I can't find them," Cyborg said, his voice trailing off quietly at the end.

"But how could they just disappear? Where could they have gone so quickly?" Starfire franticly said, her voice rising in despair.

"This doesn't make any sense," Robin stared at the ground. "What purpose could Slade have for capturing Beast Boy?"

"Perhaps he is searching for a new apprentice?" Starfire offered.

"But Slade knows that Beast Boy wouldn't agree to doing something like that," Raven stated.

"I didn't agree to do it out of my own will either, but Slade was able to manipulate me into doing it. He might be doing that with Beast Boy too," Robin responded. The already high tension in the room rose higher with the idea of Beast Boy being Slade's new apprentice, and that the team may have to fight their friend.

"The smoke that Slade engulfed us in," Cyborg started, "what if it put some sort of device in us? Just like he did when he manipulated you?" The team faced Robin, awaiting his response.

"That's very possible," Robin started, thinking about what to do next.

"When we get back to the tower, I can scan everyone to see if I can find any sort of device in our bodies," Cyborg offered.

"Raven, are you sure that you cannot sense either of them?" Starfire asked Raven, hoping for a change in answer.

"I'm sure. Slade has always been difficult to pick up on, but I can sense Beast Boy from a mile away. They're not anywhere near here," Raven said gravely.

Robin sighed briefly before speaking to the team. "We should head back to the tower and see if we can find some sort of device implanted into any of us. While there, we can search for any new leads on Slade and hopefully find Beast Boy soon." The team nodded in agreement, heading out of the old building into the cold night.